Rad Na

Recently, my good friend S has been tempting me with the best rad na in her neighborhood. All the rad na talks had me craving for it that I had to get my fix. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a remotely worthy Thai restaurants in Orange County, which is very sad and I have pretty much given up dining out on Thai food because honestly, I make better Thai food than those found at the Thai restaurants around. So, I made rad na, after consulting with Chez Pim about one of the ingredients used. I even made pickled green chilies (recipe coming soon) from scratch, to make sure that I had an authentic serving of rad na.

Rad na, or Rad Na Kuay Tiew is a Thai-Chinese noodle dish. Originated in China, this dish is commonly found all over Asia. In Malaysia, our variation is called Char Hor Fun or Wat Tan Hor; in Laos, I believe it’s called Lad Na, and I am sure there is a variation of this popular noodle dish in Vietnam, Cambodia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Regardless of its regional variation, it’s always delicious and satisfying—fried rice noodles drenched in a savory sauce with seafood, meat, and vegetables…

There are two versions of rad na, one made with preserved bean sauce (taucheo) and one without. I prefer the former, which is absent from Malaysian Char Hor Fun or Wat Tan Hor. The preserved bean sauce adds an earthy nuance to the sauce, and balances the somewhat sweetish flavor. Do try out my Rad Na recipe (click on the gallery above for detailed step-by-step cooking process), I personally think that it was a huge success, so much so that I had to make another serving a few days after this initial attempt. :)

If you’re ever in Corona del Mar (coastal Orange County) try Bamboo Bistro. I’m not an expert in Thai food, but they have some truly excellent food there and they also have seasonal dishes! They serve Vietnamese food there which is delicious too.

Cooked this tonight, loved the combination of flavours, made a large serving not much left at the end of dinner.The only problem is the my daughter didn’t like the rice noodles, she said she prefers the thin yellow egg noodles, I’ve promised her that I’ll used them the next time.